A construction worker accidentally set off a sprinkler yesterday morning near the printing stations and computer machine room in the basement of Berry Library.
None of the computer equipment -- including the brand-new GreenPrint printout stations a few feet away -- was damaged when the sprinkler went off at 7:37 a.m., machine room manager Mike Hogan said.
Since the fire system was activated, the alarm was sounded, summoning the Hanover Fire Department and causing the building to be evacauated.
Hogan credited the machine room staff's alertness with saving the exposed computers. Upon hearing the fire alarm, the staff "went outside and saw the water and ... got out the plastic" to cover the equipment, he said.
"No water ... ended up in anyplace other than the lobby where the GreenPrint equipment was," Hogan said.
Had water entered the adjacent machine room, which houses most of the College's computer servers -- including the central BlitzMail hub and a telephone switcher -- the damage could have been much greater, Hogan said.
The fire department, working with Facilities, Operations and Management staff, managed to turn off the sprinkler within minutes and began the cleanup process.
About one-half inch of water accumulated before the water was shut off.
"Everything was back up and working by 9:30" in the morning, Hogan said, though students reported that some water remained on the floor until late morning.
The closing of the print window and the GreenPrint output stations caused havoc with many students yesterday, and some students even reported that the popular public printer in Collis Center at one point would not accept more print jobs.
The worker was "working on the ductwork above the ceiling," construction project manager Shawn Donovan said. When he fell, his foot dislodged a ceiling panel "and the sprinkler head was jarred loose," he said.
Fortunately, "the flooring right under where the [sprinkler] head went off was ceramic tile," Donovan said. The damage may have been worse with another material.
Few unintentional activations of the sprinkler system occur in Hanover, fire department spokesman David Hautaniemi said, adding that "Normally there is either a fire or some sort of accident."
